Pages

Saturday, 18 February 2017

Commercial Broadcasters Rejects DAB Transition Plan in Germany

Association leaving federal government digitalradio boardThe private commercial radio stations, which are part of Verband Privater Rundfunk und Telemedien e.V. (VPRT), has rejected the "Action Plan for the Transformation of Radio Broadcasting in the Digital Age" as non-marketable and also left the Digitalradio-Board of the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI). VPRT demands that the regional states now act in the sense of diversity protection in the dual system. The draft roadmap was passed yesterday by the Parliamentary State Secretary Bär to the State Secretary Raab (Rhineland-Palatinate) for further consultation its Broadcasting Commission.

The chairman of the radio and audio services department in the VPRT and managing director of Radio Rainbow Klaus Schunk said: New technologies can not be politically prescribed. They must convince consumers and be able to take action in the market on their own. The approach of developing a roadmap for the transition to the digital radio future with all participants was a real and important attempt. This has unfortunately failed from the point of view of private radio stations. The draft Action Plan does not provide a market-compliant migration scenario. It promotes the transfer standard DAB+ onesided and disregards market and usage conditions.

The private radio stations criticize, inter alia, the measure of keeping FM frequencies which are no longer used by public service broadcasters largely unused and not to be reused by private radios. It is unacceptable in this form to protect the end of the most widely used FM standard in this form, which will be a long-term and alternative business for private radio stations. If FM frequencies are returned by ARD or Deutschlandradio, they should be used to supply new areas for the privately-owned radio stations that have always been inferior to them and not to be confiscated by the state, says Schunk.